Void
by Rose Thorne
Summary: After activating some sort of trap in a temple, Zelgadis found himself lost in a strange world where his magic didn't work. It was Jack who found him, saved him before he went mad. Jack/Zel. Written for Springkink.


**Void**

by Rose Thorne

Disclaimer: Neither _Slayers_ nor _Torchwood_ are owned by me.

* * *

Strangely enough, it was the sex that had finally grounded Zelgadis. The man in the long coat seducing him—not exactly the most difficult of tasks given Zel's state of mind—had made it clear that t his was reality, not some dream.

Even if everything else was unfamiliar, from his inability to use magic in this strange world to the food and clothing, sex, it seemed, was the same anywhere.

Jack, he remembered, was the man's name. Captain Jack Harkness. And, despite Zel's appearance he'd treated him like a person, hadn't batted an eye—had, in fact, given an appreciative leer. One that reminded Zelgadis of a certain priest, almost painfully now that he might never see him again.

It was with Jack fucking him that he was finally able to start making sense of what had happened.

He had been in the ruins of some sort of temple, he remembered, searching as usual for any possible lead on a cure. All Zel could think now was that he had sprung a trap of some sort. One moment, he had been staring across a rubble-strewn hall at the strange metal artifact he had come seeking, and the next he had been surrounded by tall, strange buildings and people. And his appearance had, predictably, caused a panic—though that was likely in part because his sword was drawn and he'd appeared out of nowhere.

Zel had managed to stay on the run for several days; he was, after all, used to hiding. But he'd always had his magic, and without it there was really only so much he could do. Especially when it turned out that this place had developed far more effective guns than even Rezo could have managed. His shoulder was still healing.

He'd woken in a cell with his wound dressed, to the sound of some sort of creature snarling in an adjacent one. He had quickly discovered that even his strength could not break the clear material that looked like glass and was sealing him in. And without his magic, with his sword taken from him, that strength had been his only remaining weapon.

His captors only showed themselves after he had exhausted himself trying to find a weak point—though he had carefully avoided the wall separating him from whatever creature was grunting and snarling and howling; he wasn't that stupid.

They had studied him through the glass, and he'd done the same. Aside from the man he had later learned was Jack, there had been a man with a face that looked almost rodent-like, another man who looked rather young, a dark-haired girl with a gap between her front teeth, and another small woman with dark hair.

It was the girl with the teeth who spoke first. "Do you know what it is, Jack?"

Zel was more surprised that he could understand them than offended. He had, after all, gotten used to being considered a monster.

"It's male, Gwen," the rat-faced man said. "What kind of alien has stone skin anyway? I didn't even know that was possible."

The girl, Gwen, rolled her eyes. "Fine. He. What is he, Jack?"

"No idea. Never seen anything like him. Most aliens with stone anatomies are completely stone. You said he's part human, Tosh?"

The small woman nodded. "The scanner couldn't identify the rest, but he's definitely part human."

"D'ya figure he's intelligent?" That was the rat-faced man again, and Zel bristled a bit at the implication.

"Likely, Owen," the woman named Tosh said. "He did, after all, avoid testing the wall leading to the Weevil's cell."

"Could just be instinct," Owen said. "Hell, even rats like to avoid the Weevils."

Zel glared at him, and the one who hadn't spoken yet smiled. "Well, from the look he's giving you, I'd say he's intelligent. And, unless he picked it up from your tone, he understands what you're saying and doesn't appreciate you thinking he's stupid."

Jack grinned. "Certainly looks that way. Ianto, get our guest some water, maybe something light to eat. It took days to catch him, and I'd bet he's hungry."

The one who had politely chewed out Owen left, and Jack turned back to Zelgadis.

"What's your name?" When Zel didn't reply, he just raised an eyebrow. "I could tell you were following our conversation, and I'm betting you figured out all our names from it. I'd like to know yours."

Zel stared at him for a moment before giving in. He had no idea where he was, or any idea of how to get home. And even though these people had shot him, they were his only link to anything at all.

"Zelgadis," he finally said, too suspicious to grace them with his surname. "Where am I?"

"Earth," Jack said, like that should mean something. "I'm Captain Jack Harkness. This is Owen Harper—he patched up your bullet wound—Gwen Cooper, and Toshiko Sado. Ianto Jones is whipping up some refreshments."

Zelgadis barely acknowledged them, too troubled to be bothered with pleasantries. "Where is 'Earth'? And how did I get here?"

He was troubled when they looked at each other, the looks on their faces hardly encouraging. Zel forced himself to ask the question he dreaded the answer to.

"Do you know how I can get home?"

The long silence didn't bode well. He already knew that he couldn't count on Lina or the others. Even if they figured out what had happened, they'd wind up trapped here with him. And Xellos… He wasn't really sure that the Mazoku could survive in a world without magic. He could very easily be stuck here for the rest of his life.

It was Gwen, the one who had initially referred to him as "it," who responded, her voice filled with empathy. "We'll definitely try."

He didn't want to fall apart in front of them, complete strangers in a world he didn't understand, but the pity in her voice, the implication that it probably wasn't going to happen, made it hard not to. And with it clear that they wanted to observe him…

Zelgadis had plenty of experience hiding his emotions, so he settled for turning away from them and ignoring them. He didn't even react when Ianto slid a tray of food and what smelled suspiciously like a very nice cup of coffee into his cell. He only bothered with it after they left him alone with only the snarls of the Weevil in the next cell to keep him company, long after it had gone cold. And then, only alone, did he let himself react to his situation.

It was much later when Jack let him out, long after he had sent everyone away. He'd let the man lead him up through what he called "the Hub," showing him a flying reptile-like creature he said was a pteranodon.

Finally, he'd led him to what looked like a rudimentary set of living quarters and handed him a towel.

"There's a shower that way. I've got some clothes that should fit you. Those are pretty much ruined."

Zel looked down, realizing for the first time that his shirt was torn in many places, and ruined where a bandage poked through the blood-caked fabric. Seeing that brought the world into focus a bit, cleared the fog that had cluttered his mind since he'd found himself here.

"Should you really be letting me out?" he asked after a moment. "I could kill you or something."

Jack smiled—a smile that Zelgadis found he was getting used to. "I'm what you might call death-challenged. I can die, but it's a temporary condition."

Zelgadis wasn't sure he understood that, but he wasn't intending to harm Jack anyway. These people were, it seemed, his allies, even if they'd shot and imprisoned him.

"I gotta know, though," Jack started, and Zel tensed without really knowing why. "Tosh said you're one third human, and one third each of something else. That kind of combination's pretty hard to get in nature, unless there's three partners involved in reproduction and that's pretty damned rare even considering how diverse the universe is."

Zel waited, though he knew exactly where Jack was going, and now why he'd been honest about his "death-challenged" condition. It was a trade of information.

"Which means… Well, I don't know what it means. I was hoping you'd shed some light on the subject."

Even after all this time, on a world where things were completely different, it was hard to talk about what Rezo had done to him. And if this world didn't have magic, he didn't really know how he was going to explain it. He settled on the simplest explanation.

"I was originally human," he whispered. "My grandfather… experimented. And now I'm not anymore."

"What did he do?" Jack almost demanded. It was strange to see a stranger look almost… protective of him.

Zel sighed. "We… Where I'm from we have, well, magic. He used it to fuse me with two other creatures. A golem, and a brau demon. I don't know how… or if it can be reversed. He claimed it couldn't be, but he was a lying bastard."

Jack reached forward. Zelgadis took an instinctive step back, and he stopped.

"I'm sorry. The not-dying thing wasn't really my choice, either. It's not really a picnic when you revive half-healed. It's even harder to explain how it happened. Probably a lot like magic in a lot of ways."

Zel didn't bother asking, figuring Jack would tell him if he wanted. He wasn't surprised when he didn't go on.

"I'm going to be stuck here, aren't I?"

Jack gave him a pitying look. "We're not really sure how the Rift works. It picks up people and deposits them here, and takes people from here elsewhere. They usually get back eventually. The eventually part is the problem."

Zelgadis wasn't very encouraged by "usually," either. "So what am I supposed to do? Stay in the cell like that Weevil and wait?"

"No." This time Jack didn't stop until he'd put a hand on Zel's shoulder. "Look, the Weevils… Well, they're kind of like vermin. And they're dangerous. Pack animals, kill humans, that kind of thing. You… You're an innocent who got caught up by the Rift."

"So what's going to happen to me?"

"Don't worry. We'll take care of you." The look Jack gave him, the little seductive smile that reminded him so much of someone else, left no doubt in Zel's mind how he intended to take care of him at that moment.

The past several days had been so much for Zel that he didn't resist when Jack led him to the shower, didn't protest when he disrobed him. He let Jack take him into the shower and bathe him. Let him touch him, push it further, until Zelgadis was pressed against the tiled wall with Jack behind him and inside him.

These people could have something beyond magic that could cure him. Maybe that was why he had been sent here.

He could always hope.

Zel was stuck here for the foreseeable future, and might never make it home. He'd be dependent upon the whims of these Torchwood people, would have to hide in the Hub or wherever they decided to put him.

But Zelgadis was used to not having control of his own destiny. He'd get through it, somehow.

At least he wasn't alone.

* * *

Torchwood-verse, this takes place during season 1, before the Resurrection Glove incident with Owen and before Jack went after the Doctor. Possibly even pre-Jack/Ianto.

Slayers-verse, this takes place after Evolution-R.

Total one-shot here, so don't expect more.

Written for my own old prompt on Springkink:

Crossover: Torchwood/Slayers, Jack/Zelgadis: sex as a stabilizing force - After activating some sort of trap in a temple, he found himself lost in a strange world where his magic didn't work; it was Jack who found him, saved him before he went mad.


End file.
